Family of murdered WSU student gets justice

CINCINNATI, Ohio (WRGT) -- The family of a Wright State (WSU) student who was shot and killed in Cincinnati gets justice. Her killers, pleaded guilty in court on Monday after her family’s emotional plea to the judge.

“The dreams she had for herself are the dreams we wanted to see come to fruition,” said Shirley Rosell the student’s Grandmother.

Parris Hummons was a pre-Med honor student at WSU before her death. She had been in Cincinnati vising a fellow Raider, and the two were planning a night out. Her friend, Kristian Williams, had swapped cars with a friend the night of her death. The owner of the vehicle became nervous, after driving someone who had been in a fight.

Robert Carpenter, the man who shot Hummons, was assaulted in that fight. He saw the person who hit him get into the car Williams was driving. He wanted retaliation, so he and a driver, John Sanders, pulled up next to Williams and Hummons.

“My intent wasn't to kill, but to send a message,” Carpenter said in court.

Only his intended target was not in the vehicle, instead there were two innocent college students. Williams was also injured in the shooting, but survived. The family of Hummons addressed her killers in court.

“You took my joy that night when you put the bullet through her head,” Hummons’s grandmother Shirley Rosell said.

“You all get 20 something to life, hers is through,” Hummons’s Uncle and legal guardian Vernon Hummons said, “The only manly thing you all did today, was plead guilty. That's the only manly thing you did.”

Carpenter was sentenced to 28 years to life for murder, while Sanders is receiving 20 years to life. Since her death, Wright State has created a memorial scholarship in Hummons’s name.